Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church
Influencing A City
Jeremiah 29
Backstory:
Israel is the family of Abraham.
A guy who trusted God with reckless abandon.
God told Abraham that he would have children...he was very old / his body was as good as dead.
But God followed through and gave him a son called Isaac.
Through Isaac came Israel.
Israel is in captivity.
Israel didn't trust God
They didn't honor the sabbath.
They worshipped other gods.
God followed through with His discipline.
Jeremiah writes a letter to the Israelites.
Good News / Bad News
It's going to take 70 years...
So Jeremiah is telling them what to do in the meantime..............
Jeremiah 29:4-7
"This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem:
"Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.
Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!
And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare."
**In it's peace you will have peace!**
It's easy to be searching for what you're staring right at.
Luke 19:42
"How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes."
You're craving peace, it's right in front of you...but you're blind to what you have.
Shalom goes much deeper than the absence of conflict.
Shalom - a state of wholeness that all is well with your soul.
They wanted to get out of Babylon to get peace, but what they didn't realize was that God wanted them to bring peace to Babylon.
Pray to the Lord for your trial!
You are meant to be a blessing.
Exile - a person who lives far away from their native country.
Heaven is our true home, so we are all here as exiles.
How do we flourish in exile?
How do you thrive in exile and have the impact you're meant to have?
Two solution that are both wrong..
1. imitation
2. separation
NEITHER WORK!
Separation - they were on the outskirts of town when Jeremiah wrote the letter.
Christian becomes an adjective instead of a noun.
Retreating from the world in order to not become contaminated by the world.
We cannot separate from the world and reach the world at the same time.
Imitation - you're so much like the Babylonians that they can't tell you're not.
So in the world that you are not set apart from the world.
Solution //
INFILTRATION!
Be in the world but not of the world.
You'll have influence over the world without letting the world have influence over you.
You'll quickly drift when you're not keeping your bearings.
Hearts on Heaven!
We need to quit fixating on the world's distractions.
As we love God and stay in community but also as we're moving into the city, here are 4 takeaway truths //
1. Work Hard!
Work your tail off.
Work through the hardship.
Something being hard doesn't make it bad.
Push through and keep working.
Colossians 3:17
"And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."
2. Do Good!
Seek - don't just pray!
Matthew 5:16
"In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
1 Peter 2:15
AMPC "For it is God's will and intention that by doing right [your good and honest lives] should silence [muzzle, gag] the ignorant charges and ill-informed criticisms of foolish persons."
MSG "It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society."
3. Enjoy Life!
Explore a little bit.
If your life to God was worth saving, your life is worth savoring!
4. Be Patient!
Plant a garden, eat the fruit.
That's not how quickly it works.
There's time in-between.
Sometimes we give up too quickly.
Cities don't get built in a day and they don't get changed overnight.
Give them space to grow.
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